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| Northern Ireland welfare reform bill fails to pass | Northern Ireland welfare reform bill fails to pass |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Northern Ireland's controversial Welfare Reform Bill has failed to pass at Stormont. | Northern Ireland's controversial Welfare Reform Bill has failed to pass at Stormont. |
| A majority of 58 assembly members voted in favour and 39 voted against. | A majority of 58 assembly members voted in favour and 39 voted against. |
| However, the bill failed to pass because the nationalist Sinn Féin and SDLP put forward an official petition of concern. | |
| This meant the bill, to make changes to benefits that have been introduced in the rest of the UK, did not get the necessary cross-community support. | |
| There were several mitigation schemes in the bill that would have lessened its impact. | |
| But Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin said: "This is a time when the (Stormont) executive parties need to stand together to defend our public services, particularly in terms of health, education and welfare." | |
| Green Party leader Steven Agnew also signed the petition. | |
| During the assembly debate, Finance Minister Arlene Foster warned that if the bill failed to pass, "£604m of cuts would have to be made to vital, frontline public services, the services that the most vulnerable in our community need and rely upon". | |
| The debate went ahead despite Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson's admission to hospital with a suspected heart attack on Monday. | |
| DUP sources say the 66-year-old party leader is making good progress and has been given a full briefing on Tuesday's events at Stormont. | |
| What is a petition of concern? | What is a petition of concern? |
| The measure was designed as a way to safeguard minority rights in Stormont's power-sharing assembly. | The measure was designed as a way to safeguard minority rights in Stormont's power-sharing assembly. |
| If a petition of concern is presented to the assembly speaker, any motion or amendment will need cross-community support. | If a petition of concern is presented to the assembly speaker, any motion or amendment will need cross-community support. |
| In such cases, a vote on proposed legislation will only pass if supported by a weighted majority (60%) of members voting, including at least 40% of each of the nationalist and unionist designations present and voting. | In such cases, a vote on proposed legislation will only pass if supported by a weighted majority (60%) of members voting, including at least 40% of each of the nationalist and unionist designations present and voting. |
| Effectively this means that, provided enough MLAs from a particular community agree, that community can exercise a veto over the assembly's decisions. | Effectively this means that, provided enough MLAs from a particular community agree, that community can exercise a veto over the assembly's decisions. |